You know it's summer when the Coneflowers (Echinacea purpurea) bloom, and it was just about to happen when I wrote this post a few days ago. They're even closer now.
Another summer sign is the blooms of Mock Orange (Philadelphus coronarius), which are pretty enough for a June wedding bouquet.
It's Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day, and much is happening in the garden as we move into summer.
The pollinators have been buzzing on the 'May Night' Salvia (Salvia x sylvestris).
The Peonies (Paeonia lactifora 'Sarah Berhnardt' and one of the 'Kelways') have finished blooming, but I arranged some in a bouquet before they faded.
Virginia Waterleaf (Hydrophyllum virginianum) has finished blooming, too. It seemed like it was a good year for this plant, or maybe I simply enjoyed it more--from buds to blooms to awesome, curly seedheads.
Fringed Bleeding Heart (Dicentra eximia) always seems to have a long blooming period in my garden--from early May to mid-June and beyond.
This purple Foxglove (Digitalis purpurea 'Camelot Lavender') is impressive in its first year--with side shoots and graceful coloring. I hope it will be bigger next year.
The annuals are settling in nicely, too. I had to have Angelonias (A. augustifolia 'Angelface Blue') in a pot again this summer.
I played around with several pots, and now I need to figure out where I want them to sit.
It's hard to believe I only discovered Lantanas (L. camara) a few years ago, as annuals for a northern garden. They've become staples in my garden, and the butterflies love them. Shown above, top to bottom: 'Flame,' 'Citrus,' and 'Bandana Red.'
Finally, I wasn't thrilled with the red Pentas (P. lanceolata) I planted last year because of the color clash in that part of the garden. But these pink ones--even though they're named 'Graffiti Violet'--are perfect.
What's blooming in your garden this Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day? Head on over to May Dreams Gardens to see what's blooming in gardens around the world.
Summer is stepping up all around you. The peonies are divine and that foxglove is lovely. Virginia Waterleaf is new to me and very interesting.
ReplyDeleteYes, summer is here! Thanks--I already miss the Peonies. They have such a short bloom time.
DeleteWe share similar tastes in annuals, Beth--coincidentally, I just planted some 'Graffiti Violet' pentas just last night! And the lantanas are another of my staple annuals. They and the zinnias keep the butterflies happy. Speaking of butterflies, I've seen very few this year. I am hoping that changes once the coneflowers bloom. Gorgeous peony bouquet!
ReplyDeleteAh, that's wonderful that we picked the same cultivar! Yes, I have basically the same combination in my annual/veggie/cutting garden. I've seen quite a few Tiger Swallowtails and Red Admirals, but only a handful of Monarchs. The coneflowers are just about to bloom here, so they must be blooming by you now? They do tend to attract the butterflies!
DeleteSimply said . . .
ReplyDeleteStunning to have all that beauty in one garden . . .
Absolutely loved this post . . .
Thank you, Lynne! I know your garden is full of beauty, too.
DeleteBeth, wonderful post! I love the promise of flowers in bud! I have to search out some lantana; I had it in the garden a long time ago but haven't seen it since at any of the greenhouses I haunt. My peonies are about halfway through flowering, I wish we could slow the season down some. (I also hope the weather doesn't take the nasty turn they are predicting today.)
ReplyDeleteThanks, Karen. Busy week, so I'm just getting back to replies and blog visits. Yes, Lantana is a great annual for a Midwestern garden--the butterflies love it! I miss the Peonies!
DeleteI find it fascinating how our gardens ebb and flow Beth. Salvias and coneflowers blooming here after our short heat wave and they continued even with the cold snap we had with nights in the 40s and daytime highs at 60 somedays. I love lantanas too! And my peonies are just opening while coneflowers bloom! Usually it is the opposite....
ReplyDeleteYes, it's fascinating how sometimes the bloom times are flip-flopped. My coneflowers are just about to bloom, while the peonies are done.
DeleteYour photos are really so amazing, Beth. They give me a new appreciation for the geometry and beauty of each individual flower.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Cassi. The blooms and the way the light plays with them inspire me. I agree: The geometry of each flower is amazing!
DeleteLots of beauties, Beth. I love the beginning, middle and end photos of the Virginia Waterleaf--along with everything else!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Tina. The Virginia Waterleaf was lovely this year. I tend to kind of ignore it most years, but it's actually a fascinating plant.
DeleteBeautiful, Beth. Love those fringed bleeding hearts. You are way ahead of us here in the NC mountains! My foxies are just finishing!
ReplyDeleteHow interesting! I would have thought you'd always be ahead of us. Thanks, Lynn. I think of NC as being one of the best states for gardening.
DeleteHere in Tennessee, my mock orange is one of my first bloomers in spring! Interesting that yours is a summer bloomer in Wisconsin.
ReplyDelete(In fact, I just some a single rebloom on mine yesterday) :)
Your lantana looks great. For some reason, none of the four lantanas that I planted this year are doing much yet. I've had some blooms, but none of them seem inclined to grow. Last year, my two lantanas reached bush-size by the end of the season. Perhaps these will take off in July or August?
Yes, Mock Orange consistently blooms here at the start of "summer." Like early to mid-June. Re: the Lantanas ... mine seem to take a bit to settle in, and then they really take off. I would think they'd like your warmer climate even more, although currently we have more daylight than you do and quite warm temperatures. Anyway, I'll bet yours will soon be growing like crazy.
DeleteLovely blooms for June. I especially like the peonies. We are in the heat of the summer and it is getting too hot to garden. Maybe I'll finally catch up on blogging.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Karin. It was too hot to garden here today, too. We'll have a cool-down tomorrow, and I'm looking forward to it! I was out of the picture with a training session last week, so I have much catching up to do!
DeleteMay Night and peonies - delicious
ReplyDeleteYes, they are pretty together. The 'May Nights' don't seem to last long in a vase, however, so I try to savor them in the garden while they're blooming. :)
DeleteDefinitely seems to take a while for foxgloves to make a statement. I can easily tell which are the new ones I planted last year. We had a perfect rainfall last night - just over an inch - hope you did too.
ReplyDeleteHi Linda: Yes, we had about 1.5 inches (I think) on Tuesday night into Wednesday. But we've needed it with this heat. I'm hoping we'll get some more rainfall during the next few days--the plants are looking crispy again. Funny how fast that happens when it's so hot.
DeleteI love what you did with the peony.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful :-)
I have one peony left blooming. Oh the smell.
Have a great week,
Carla
Thanks, Carla. I miss the peonies ... it seems so long ago already that they were blooming.
DeleteBeautiful! Love to see Lantana and Caladium grow so healthy there.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Endah. Yes, they like our summers. The temps are nice and warm for them this summer. :)
DeleteLovely looking through your photos...
ReplyDeleteAmanda xx
Thank you, Amanda. Summer flowers are so hopeful and colorful. :)
DeleteYour flowers look fantastic! Indeed the lantanas attract bees! I remember in my garden in Majorca. Your show here Philadelphus, which has been a floral arrangement in my desk for some weeks, I love the sweet scent! And the peonies are simply lovely. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteHi Lula: The Lantanas are sunny bright. Mock Orange is wonderful in arrangements, isn't it? I had been planning to cut some for a vase, but never got around to it. I'm glad some of the summer flowers last a little longer.
DeleteOh your peonies are beautiful, I so miss the Sarah Bernhard peonies I had in my previous garden! When the garden here is more sorted I need to find a space for one or two peonies, even if they only flower for a short period. I have Camelot digitalis too that I sowed from seed, but have yet to plant them in the ground so they are going to be very late to flower! I must get on with things…nice to see what they will be like, eventually. Thanks for the tour in your June garden, as always a pleasure Beth!
ReplyDeleteYes, Peonies are fabulous! Mine didn't have as many blooms on them this year--probably because the Oaks leafed out earlier so the Peonies didn't get as much sun. I love a garden filled with towering Foxgloves!
DeleteBeautiful blooms - I was also very taken with the Lantana when I first saw them in Disney. The little pillow shaped buds are just as delightful as the open blooms.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Margaret. Yes, I'm relatively new to Lantanas. I never thought to plant them as annuals until a trip to New Orleans--where I saw them everywhere. And then when I returned home that spring, I noticed that local garden centers had Lantanas available as annuals. Joy!
DeleteYou must be one or two weeks ahead of us Beth. The tree peonies are over but the herbaceous ones are just starting here.
ReplyDeleteI am jealous of your Digitalis. They do not seem to like the garden here (or the gardener!).
Interesting. I would have thought we'd be on nearly the same schedule. I've had uneven results with Digitalis here. Only one time did they last longer than a couple of years. They don't seem to seed well here for that third, fourth, etc., continued presence in the garden.
DeletePentas and Lantanas are staples for me as well, in my containers for sun.
ReplyDeleteYes--I can't say enough good things about them. They're lovely, and the hummingbirds and butterflies really seem to like them, too.
DeleteMy lone peony didn't bloom this year. :( Hopefully, next year will be better. I love those foxgloves!
ReplyDeleteI have two Peonies that consistently bloom, and one that has never bloomed in the seven (or more?) years since I planted it. Probably too much shade. Dang. I love Foxgloves, too. I hope this variety will last a little longer than other ones I've tried in the past.
DeleteLovely blooms as always. I noticed this morning going past Dawley Conservancy that there are a ton of purple coneflowers starting to bloom while the indigo seems to be on the way out.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Heather. Yes, the Echinacea is blooming now. I love it!
DeleteI am unfamiliar with Virginia Waterleaf; I will need to do some research on it! Your June garden is lovely. So many of the plants that bloom in May here are blooming for you in June. Most of my garden is at least partially shady, but I have a few spots of full son, and lantana is doing well. I have been planting it only a few years, but it seems to enjoy our heat. Big plus!
ReplyDeleteVirginia Waterleaf is quite common around here, and I would think it's native by you, too, but maybe not. It has interesting patterns that look like water drops on its leaves when it first emerges in the spring. Yes, the Lantana likes our summer heat, too. Of course, Lantana can only be an annual here, but it seems very happy from May through early October.
DeleteIt is odd, the names given to cultivars sometimes, isn't it!? Pentas and Lantanas are new to me, I think they look lovely. Your garden is looking amazing.
ReplyDeleteI agree: Some of the cultivar names are quite humorous! I plant the Pentas and the Lantanas for the butterflies. Thanks, Tim.
DeleteYour blooms are gorgeous and I especially like the foliage combinations you put together in your pots! Happy belated GBBD!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Peter. The potted arrangements are filling in nicely this year. I've rearranged them a few times, but that's part of the joy of potted plants, right? You get to move them around as much as you want. :)
DeleteOh yes that's a lot of promises in your garden. I love that blue spike. I am amazed that both the lantana and the pentas can withstand your cold and they look lovely again.
ReplyDeleteOh, I love the Salvia, too. It's finished with it's first flush, so I deadheaded it and new blooms are coming now. Re: the Lantanas and Pentas ... they don't survive our winters. I have to plant new ones every spring as annuals. But they thrive during our hot summers! :)
DeleteI am growing virtually the same plants here in the Midlands, UK. Your garden is looking lovely. Thanks for sharing your photos. All the best.
ReplyDeleteLovely blooms Beth. The foxglove is a gorgeous colour. Lantanas are brilliant for summer colour and easy from cuttings.
ReplyDeleteI was late in discovering Lantanas too, and now would be lost without them.
ReplyDeleteIt has been a really strange year with bloom combinations. This year I reduced the number of annuals to add and just went with the self sowing plants. Too dry for months here. I do have only two lantanas and they take the dry soil beautifully. The garden needs that annual shot of color, but with so many blooming perennials now, they are not really missed. That is what I meant about bloom combinations, so many plants blooming together that never did before.
ReplyDeleteIt has been a really strange year with bloom combinations. This year I reduced the number of annuals to add and just went with the self sowing plants. Too dry for months here. I do have only two lantanas and they take the dry soil beautifully. The garden needs that annual shot of color, but with so many blooming perennials now, they are not really missed. That is what I meant about bloom combinations, so many plants blooming together that never did before.
ReplyDeleteAm a sucker for salvias and that purple is hypnotic but aside from all the sunny showstoppers the Camelot foxgloves are the real romance ps Fringed dicentras ask little and give so much - this year seem especially good - have some wine coloured - always a pleasure to 'visit' your garden Beth
ReplyDelete